The Button Presser

Developer- Bioware
Publishers- Electronic Arts
Release Date- March 5th, 2013
Price- $14.99 MSRP
Review Platform- Xbox 360




Shepard & Company







The Citadel DLC as you probably know concludes the development of additional content for Mass Effect 3. As the final piece of single-player content, Citadel brings back old friends from Mass Effect 2, gives players their own spacious apartment to customize, as well as telling an interesting story about new enemies who seek to harm Shepard during his or her shore leave.

While the DLC promises to reunite fellow team members, the way this was implemented was a little disappointing as they mostly appear after the main arc of the content is over, allowing you to speak with them for a few more scenes and hang out for a bit at the new locations on the Citadel. This $15 piece of content will get you some mini-games to check out, new weapons to use, and a story that clocks in around 3 hours, so depending on how much you enjoy new Mass Effect content, you may want to want until this DLC gets a price drop.



For Xbox 360 players, you may have been wondering why this content takes up about 4 GB of space, which is split into two downloads. I don't know the exact reason either, but it may be due to the new locations that have been added to the Citadel, as well as the apartment you are given and new cut-scenes to check out. Despite it's size, you're not really looking at a wealth of new content, but I enjoyed this DLC nonetheless.

While it does have a serious tone to it, I found myself laughing frequently as characters addressed issues that real players have used as internet memes and slogans. In other ways, this content also feels more laid back in terms of the overall conflict in Mass Effect 3 regarding the reapers, but still manages to contain some great shooting moments, made better with the new silenced pistol you'll be able to wield in this content.



Based on who you have made contact with in Mass Effect 3, certain characters from the past will be available to aid you in the arena mini-game where you'll face waves of enemies for prizes. This is a pretty cool mode, but the characters from Mass Effect 2 don't actually help you during the story portion of this content, which is a bit of a bummer.

It's nice to have your own place on the Citadel, and interact with past characters, but this DLC is a bit steep for all that it offers. I'd say check it out once there is a price drop or sale for the content, and check out the free multiplayer DLC in the meantime.

"Commander Shepard and the Normandy crew get a much deserved break, but their shore leave is short lived. Face down a new villain before catching up with old friends from Mass Effect 1 and 2."

Here it is. Mass Effect 3 Citadel, the last piece of content for ME3, which is pretty neat since it arrives just about a year after the title was released. The content proved to be too big for a single download on the 360, so when you buy, it will be split into two downloads. Part 1 is 1200 MSP ($15), and Part 2 is free. Anyone can download part 2, but you'll still need part 1 to play. If you don't have the points to get the content now, you could at least get part 2, so you won't have to wait as long to download everything at once.

Below you'll find a link to the content, as well as a trailer. Check it out!

"Commander Shepard and the Normandy crew get a much deserved break, but their shore leave is short lived. Face down a new villain before catching up with old friends from Mass Effect 1 and 2."

Link To Content- Mass Effect 3 Citadel Pt.1 (1.99 GB | 1200 MSP)

Mass Effect 3 Citadel Pt. 2 (2 GB)

The first single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3 has arrived with Leviathan. Enjoy hours of new content with your crew and uncover the truth of the rogue Reaper. To access this DLC, you must read the message from Admiral Hackett from your terminal. Leviathan will cost 800 MSP ($10)



"Something lurks in the dark corners of space, something powerful enough to kill a Reaper. Shepard races to discover the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever. Do you dare face the Leviathan?"

Link To Content- Leviathan (1.65 GB / 800 MSP)

The next pieces of DLC for Mass Effect has been revealed! Leviathan & Firefight DLC will be coming very soon, and both will cost $10 or less. From Bioware:

"Something lurks in the dark corners of space, something powerful enough to kill a Reaper. Shepard must discover the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever. Discover more about the origins of the Reapers as you race across the galaxy to find the Leviathan. Unravel the dark history of the Reaper Race before it is too late. Coming later this summer there is no war, only the harvest."

"Players will soon be able to arm themselves with the Firefight Pack, a new Single Player Weapon Pack available for download August 7. Available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Cost is $2 or 160 Microsoft points. The Firefight Pack will feature two powerful new weapons and five bonus weapons to use in the fight to Take Back Earth!"

No word yet on if this marks the end of multiplayer DLC, but I hope it doesn't. Bioware has also been demonstrating Mass Effect 3 on Wii U, which will have all of the currently released and upcoming DLC in one package.

Look for more information soon!





[Source: Bioware Blog]

The free content for Mass Effect 3 continues on with the Earth Multiplayer Expansion. This DLC features new weapons for multiplayer as well as 6 new human classes to choose from. Check out more below!









"The fighting is fiercest when it's your home at stake! Mass Effect 3™: Earth adds mods, gear, and new maps for Rio, Vancouver, and London. It features 3 new weapons: Piranha assault shotgun, Acolyte pistol, and Typhoon light machine gun. Six new human N7 classes are also available: Destroyer, Paladin, Demolisher, Slayer, Shadow, and Fury!"

[Link to Content- Earth Multiplayer Expansion (191 MB)]

The next multiplayer pack for Mass Effect 3 will be arriving next week. Titled Mass Effect 3: Earth, the DLC is rumored to include three new maps, three new weapons, and Six new N7 human classes. From Gamezone:

"The fighting is fiercest when it's your home at stake! Mass Effect 3™: Earth adds mods, gear, and new maps for Rio, Vancouver, and London. It features 3 new weapons: Piranha assault shotgun, Acolyte pistol, and Typhoon light machine gun. Six new human N7 classes are also available: Destroyer, Paladin, Demolisher, Slayer, Shadow, and Fury!"

Look for this new content for free next week!

[Source: Gamezone / Major Nelson's Blog]

Today is a big day for RPG fans. The Extended Ending DLC for Mass Effect 3 is now available, as is the first expansion for Skyrim titled 'Dawnguard'. The DLC for Mass Effect 3 is a FREE download and Dawnguard, which is currently only available for Xbox 360, will cost $20 (1600 MSP). Last, but not least is the Close Quarters add-on for Battlefield 3. Make sure you've got some space on your hard drive for these add-ons!


"An expanded ending for Mass Effect 3. Additional scenes and an extended epilogue reveal the impact of Shepard's choices on the future of the galaxy."

[Link To Content- Extended Ending DLC (1.85 GB)]










"Dawnguard™ is the first official game add-on for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim® - the 2011 Game of the Year. The Vampire Lord Harkon has returned to power. By using the Elder Scrolls, he seeks to do the unthinkable - to end the sun itself. Will you join the ancient order of the Dawnguard and stop him? Or will you become a Vampire Lord yourself? Featuring an all new faction questline and locations, the ultimate choice will be yours."

[Link To Content- Dawnguard (582 MB/ 1600 MSP)]





"If you own Battlefield™ Premium, DO NOT purchase this content here as you will be charged again. Battlefield 3™: Close Quarters is an expansion pack bringing the team play of Battlefield 3™ to tight indoor environments. The frantic infantry combat is amplified by unprecedented destruction, added persistence, and new weapons. The HD Destruction lets players riddle the environment with bullets, reducing entire locales to ruin. The tight level design and vertical gameplay create a highly competitive environment."

[Link To Content- Close Quarters (108 KB/ 1200 MSP)]

The FREE Rebellion pack for ME3 is now available! The new pack features some cool content, so download it now and play later!

If you've got Batman Arkham City, you can also check out the new DLC, Harley Quinn's Revenge. This 800 MSP ($10) piece of content features some more gameplay that takes place near the end of the game.




"The Rebellion Multiplayer Expansion opens two new fronts against the Reapers: Firebase Jade’s jungle reservoir and Firebase Goddess on Thessia. In-game reinforcement packs now include three new weapons (Reegar Carbine, Krysae Sniper Rifle, Cerberus Harrier) as well as equipment, consumables, and six new classes from species that have lost lives or whole planets to the Reapers: Quarian Engineer and Infiltrator, Vorcha Soldier and Sentinel, Phoenix Adept and Vanguard. The battle continues – hold the line!"

Link To Content- ME3 Rebellion Pack (159 MB)





"As the dust settles in Gotham, Batman is lured back into Arkham City by its last remaining super-criminal; Harley Quinn. Now more dangerous than ever and leading a homicidal gang of her own, she is hell-bent on taking her revenge against the Dark Knight."

Link To Content- Harley's Revenge (901 MB)

Mass Effect 3's next multiplayer will once again be free with the Rebellion Pack. The DLC pack adds two new maps, three new characters to play as, and new weapons to use against the reapers, cerberus, and geth.

The pack will be available on May 29th.

Characters

-Vorcha Soldier
-Vorcha Sentinel
-Male Quarian Engineer
-Male Quarian Infiltrator
-Ex-Cerberus Vanguard and Ex-Cerberus Adept

Weapons

-Cerberus Harrier Assault Rifle
-Reegar Carbine Shotgun
-Krysae Sniper Rifle.

If you were having issues importing a character's face into Mass Effect 3, today's released patch should solve that problem. During the week of the games release, some players encountered a bug that prevented characters from being imported properly, mostly from characters imported from Mass Effect into Mass Effect 2.

The patch is now available for Xbox 360, and should be for PS3 soon.

Today you can download the demo for the upcoming Sniper Elite V2, as well as the Resurgence map pack for Mass Effect. Both items are free, so download them and have some fun!

Details below:



"The Resurgence Multiplayer Expansion brings a grudge to the fight! It provides two new maps to reconquer: Firebase Condor’s moon base and Firebase Hydra’s hydroelectric dam. It also enables reinforcement packs that offer six new classes from species that have lost lives or whole planets to the Reapers: the Batarian Sentinel, Batarian Soldier, Geth Hunter, Geth Engineer, Krogan Battlemaster, and Asari Justicar. The packs’ new weapons are the Geth Plasma SMG, Striker Assault Rifle, and Kishock Harpoon Gun. Also, four new equipment items enhance weapon stability, melee damage, headshot damage, and shield regeneration."

Link To Content- Resurgence Multiplayer Expansion (166 MB)



"ONE BULLET CAN CHANGE HISTORY. BERLIN 1945... V2 Rockets with deadly nerve gas are primed to launch. An army of German and Russian soldiers stand in your way. Make every single bullet count or the world dies with you. X-RAY KILL CAM see organs tear and burst, bones and teeth shatter, as your bullet passes through your enemy ADVANCED SNIPER SIMULATION allow for gravity, wind, distance, breathing and more. SNIPER'S CHOICE leave yourself exposed with the easy shot, or decide a more difficult but stealthier approach. CO-OP MULTIPLAYER battle through 4 war-torn online modes!"

Link To Content- Sniper Elite V2 demo (837 MB)

BioWare has announced a new multiplayer-focued pack for Mass Effect 3. Titled 'Resurgence Pack', the content will include new weapons, levels, characters and items for multiplayer. The pack will be FREE for all players when it arrives on April 10th.



Here are the full details of the pack:

Two New Action-Packed Maps – Take the battle to Firebase Condor, a warzone outpost located on one of Palaven's moons and Firebase Hydra, an old abandoned quarian colony which has since been converted into a critical power facility. Each map represents a crucial asset in the overall fight against the Reapers.

Six Powerful New Unlockable Characters – Assume the role of new characters for each class, including the Asari Justicar Adept, Krogan Battlemaster Vanguard and characters from new playable races with the Batarian Soldier, Batarian Sentinel, Geth Engineer and Geth Infiltrator.

Lethal New Weapons – Obliterate wave after wave of enemies by unlocking the Striker Assault Rifle, Kishock Harpoon Gun and Geth Plasma SMG.

New Consumables – Cash in your credits to purchase reinforcement packs that could include the following new consumables:

• Strength Enhancer – Applies a melee damage boost for one mission

• Targeting VI – Applies a headshot damage bonus for one mission

• Stabilization Module – Stabilizes weapons while firing and moving for one mission

• Shield Power Cells – Shortens the length of time shields take to begin recharging for one mission

-Source-

Gametrailers

Developer-BioWare
Publisher-Electronic Arts
Release Date- March 6th, 2012
Price- $59.99 MSRP
Review Platform- Xbox 360




Unite against the Reapers








Mass Effect 3 follows Commander Shepard and his/her crew as they prepare to seek help for the impending showdown against the Reaper invasion – something that has been in the works ever since the original Mass Effect game. It was difficult enough to defeat Sovereign, one of the first Reapers to return to the current Galaxy, but now there are many Reapers – everywhere – and they seek to once again restart their cycle of death to make room for life. Commander Shepard has no choice but to seek out aid from every alien species he/she can to help Earth, as well as the entire Galaxy.

It all comes down to this.

Bioware does a nice job of welcoming in new Mass Effect gamers to the end of this great trilogy, but they still understand that they need to satisfy their fans that have been there since the beginning of Shepard’s adventure. Promising in 2007 that their game would be a trilogy where choices made through each game would make an impact into the next, Bioware really had to be careful planning and developing each game and they absolutely deliver. While there seems to be less dialogue options and significantly more action this time around, choices you do make in this game still impact many elements in the game.


Did you lose crew members in Mass Effect 2? Importing your save ensures they won’t magically appear in this one, so you’ll get a nice continuation of the events that occurred in the last game. I actually want to go back into the previous games in order to make different choices and see how things differ each time I play.

The credits rolled for me on Mass Effect 3 after about 40 hours was put into the game, with single-player taking up most of that time and a few hours spent on multiplayer – something that was met with curious thoughts from fans initially, but turned out to be a lot of fun. With DLC definitely on the way for the game and one pack already available, you can ensure that the $60 asking price for the game will be one that provides you with plenty of content.


Combat in the game is top-notch. It’s less of a RPG, and more of a regular third-person shooter, but you still have all the powers and commands available that can be upgraded once you level up. Cover is improved as well, and allows you to easily move in and out of danger. Your allies’ powers can be hot-keyed just like before, and teammates can be ordered to move to certain positions when things get hairy in battle.

Renegade and Paragon options are back again, including moments in the game where you can make a choice of actions with the left or right trigger. Having a high enough meter can also provide you with extra dialogue options, which can really change how a situation occurs.


Multiplayer was a surprise in two different meanings: It's existence and the fact that it is really fun. You are able to choose a class based off of the standard campaign classes like Adept, Sentinel, and Soldier, and then choose a character in the class to level up and play with.

Gameplay is similar to a horde or firefight-type mode, with certain objectives popping up in the 10-wave mode called 'Galaxy at War'. You can specify enemies and levels, and also change the difficulty with Gold being the hardest. While experience is earned in this mode, credits are too – allowing you to buy packs that come with guns, attachments, and new characters to play as. You can also use actual money on PS3 and Microsoft Points on 360 if you wanted.

Another cool thing about multiplayer is that you can increase your Galactic readiness for single-player by earning experience and credits. If you have characters that reach level 20, you can even add them to your assets for single-player, giving you an even better chance to have a nice readiness level. An Online pass is required to play multiplayer, so make sure you buy new if you can. It's definitely worth it to try out Galaxy at War.


Kinect owners will be happy to know that Mass Effect 3 supports use of the peripheral to a great degree. Dialogue options can be spoken with your voice, as well as giving commands to your team members, but that's not all. Weapons and abilities can be changed with your voice too, and you can even say 'Quick Save' and the game will recognize your voice and save for you.

While there seems to be less emphasis on exploration and side-quests, you’ll still explore many areas of the galaxy. When navigating the map, scanning areas for resources and people can help your Galactic rating, the meter and percentages that shows how prepared you are for the Reapers, but you’ll have to be careful since Reapers can be alerted to your location when you scan.



Bioware doesn’t forget about their fans – despite all the recent ending protests. The fact that people are protesting and stating their reasons is because they care – hours upon hours have been invested in the amazing universe that is Mass Effect. There are few games that can get this sort of reaction out of people.

Mass Effect 3 has what it takes to be game of the year, just like Mass Effect 2 did. If you’ve never played before, now is the perfect time so you can see what all the fuss is about with Shepard and company.

"Mass Effect 3 plunges you into an all-out galactic war to take Earth back from a nearly unstoppable foe – and how you fight that war is entirely up to you. Groundbreaking interactive storytelling drives the heart-pounding action in which each decision you make could have devastating and deadly consequences. You are Commander Shepard, the only one who can save Earth from annihilation. But you are not alone. At your side is a team of elite, battle-hardened soldiers ready for your command. Flank enemies with your squad or take them down lone wolf. Use cover or go in guns blazing. Unleash tactical assaults from a distance or go toe-to-toe with enemies using devastating melee assaults and the deadly omniblade. On March 6th, 2012 the war for Earth begins."

In a letter to fans today, Co-founder of Bioware Ray Muzyka addressed the concerns for Mass Effect 3 – specifically in terms of complaints to the ending, and promises more details later in April regarding the end. I have not completed the game yet, so I still don't know why fans are upset, but it must be big since changes are possibly coming. Here's an excerpt from the letter, and you can read the rest on Bioware's blog:



"As co-founder and GM of BioWare, I’m very proud of the ME3 team; I personally believe Mass Effect 3 is the best work we’ve yet created. So, it’s incredibly painful to receive feedback from our core fans that the game’s endings were not up to their expectations. Our first instinct is to defend our work and point to the high ratings offered by critics – but out of respect to our fans, we need to accept the criticism and feedback with humility.

I believe passionately that games are an art form, and that the power of our medium flows from our audience, who are deeply involved in how the story unfolds, and who have the uncontested right to provide constructive criticism. At the same time, I also believe in and support the artistic choices made by the development team. The team and I have been thinking hard about how to best address the comments on ME3’s endings from players, while still maintaining the artistic integrity of the game.

Mass Effect 3 concludes a trilogy with so much player control and ownership of the story that it was hard for us to predict the range of emotions players would feel when they finished playing through it. The journey you undertake in Mass Effect provokes an intense range of highly personal emotions in the player; even so, the passionate reaction of some of our most loyal players to the current endings in Mass Effect 3 is something that has genuinely surprised us. This is an issue we care about deeply, and we will respond to it in a fair and timely way. We’re already working hard to do that."

-Source-

Bioware Blog

After playing Mass Effect 3 for a couple of hours last night, its safe to say that the game game is everything I've been waiting for and more. The action is intense and plays more like a shooter than ever before, but still maintains the RPG elements – if you choose the play with this setting since you can play in three different ways. I've been reading articles about issues with character importing, but luckily I've haven't encountered this problem, but I do hope EA and Bioware fix it ASAP for players.

I still am amazed by the fact that I'm using a character I created all the way from Mass Effect 1, and get to continue his story into ME3. For right now, the shooting and dialogue are as good as they've ever been, and I can't wait to play more of it later today.


I've only played the online mode once so far, but I've you liked the multiplayer demo you get more of that in the full game, including the ability to use Microsoft points to buy packs as an alternate to saving up credits.

I hope to have a review in the coming weeks, so look out for that soon. I am Alive is out today too, so I may buy that and look to have a review up sometime.

It's time.

The Reapers are coming to Earth, and it's up to you to fight them off. Just make sure you've got some time for the other great games out this week.

The epic trilogy concludes today with Mass Effect 3, a game I can't wait to dig in to, but Street Fighter X Tekken is also out which looks like a lot of fun. The House Party concludes with the release of I am Alive. I can't wait to finally check that game out. It's another strong week for game releases, so have fun!

3-6-12

Mass Effect 3 (360,PS3,PC)
Street Fighter X Tekken (360,PS3,PC)
Blades of Time (360,PS3)
MLB 12: The Show (PS3)

3-7-12

I am Alive (Xbox Live Arcade)